1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an exercising system for exercising the muscles, and in particular such a system for exercising the abdominal muscles by use of a machine in which the user sits and works against force resisting weights or stretch materials and the like.
2. Prior Art
There are many machines and methods in the prior art designed to exercise the body and its various muscle sets.
Additionally, of course, there are various exercising machines designed for the exerciser to sit in them and to exercise various parts of the body by working against weights or other force resisting systems associated with the seat; note for example the patent to Zinkin (U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,282, issued July 3, 1973). Additionally, as a broad concept, devices which can be used to exercise the abdominal muscles, inter alia, are also known; note for example the patents to Pfotenhauer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,513, issued Apr. 6, 1976; see particularly FIGS. 8i and 8j) and to McDonough (U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,070, issued Nov. 15, 1966; see particularly FIG. 9); and note also the standard bench press or slant board devices which with hand held weights can be used to exercise, inter alia, the abdominals.
Also, take in abstract isolation, individual elements of the present invention or specific features of the invention in other combinations have been known. Thus, with respect to, for example, seat belts or leg belts, note for example the McDonough patent supra (FIG. 6) and the DeLorme, Jr., et al patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,366, issued June 6, 1967). For shoulder harnesses generally, note for example the patents to Moore (U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,850, issued Feb. 27, 1968) and to Heisler et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,152,802, issued Oct. 13, 1964).
With respect to exercisers involving seats, note for example the Zinkin patent supra, the Yount et al patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,512, issued Sept. 18, 1973), the Aronshol patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,017,180 issued Jan. 16, 1972) and the Feather, et al patent (U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,613, issued Jan. 23, 1973. The patent to Wisby (U.S. Pat. No. 2,482,996, issued Sept. 27, 1949) illustrates a posture corrective chair having a curved back of spring steel and is not really considered part of the prior art of the present invention, nor is the back massaging machine of the Weaver patent (U.S. Pat. No. 1,929,107, issued Oct. 3, 1933), but these latter patents are merely being listed as having been incidentally noted in a patentability search.
With respect to exemplary pulley/weight systems note for example the patents to Proctor (U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,527, issued Feb. 8, 1972), McArthur (U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,258, issued Nov. 14, 1978), Lambert, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,714, issued Apr. 17, 1979), Flannery (U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,815, issued Apr. 18, 1978) and the Zinkin patent supra. With respect to exercising or therapeutic devices in which broadly speaking the forced resistant or guidance system is applied from above and/or behind, note for example the patents to Flannery supra, Walker (U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,487, issued Jan. 9, 1973) and Jensen (U.S. Pat. No. 3,033,198, issued May 8, 1962).
However, none of these patents in any proper combination fairly suggest or teach the inventive combination of the present invention.
In particular, it has been long desired to have a exercising device which could isolate the abdominal muscles, whereas the methods and devices of the prior art used to exercise the abdominals required the strength of the hip flexor muscle (that is the quadriceps groups and the iliopsoas muscle). By isolating the abdominals, as achieved in the present invention, the incidence of low-back injury and hip flexor injury is totally eliminated.
Additionally, the abdominal muscles in the present invention can be exercised in a seated position, and the machine of the present invention requires the person using it to place the abdominal muscles "on stretch" prior to contracture. Finally, in contradistinction to the prior art, the system of the present invention is, it is believed, innovative in so far as it utilizes the progressive resistance principle by means of the use of weights in an abdominal muscle exercising system.
3. Summary Discussion of Invention
The abdominal muscle exercising system of the present invention is constructed to allow the exerciser to sit upright against a posteriorly curved, firm or relatively hard seatback. The curve of the seatback causes the muscles in the front of the trunk of the body i.e. the abdominals, to be stretched prior to contracture.
In the present invention, a shoulder harness, which is easily slipped into from the seated position, is affixed to preferrably a progressive resistance force system applied from the back and overhead for example to a top pulley of a forced resistant system by means of for example a chain or cable or other line. From the top pulley, the chain or cable or other line descends to the weight resistant system through appropriate linkages and pulleys as desired, and several exemplary versions (FIGS. 1-3) of this forced resistance system is disclosed herein. Alternatively, a resilient, stretch material, such as for example surgical tubing could be used (FIGS. 4 and 5).
In use, the exerciser simply straps himself into the seat of the machine of the present invention, puts the shoulder harness on and lies back against the posteriorly curved back which puts the abdominals in stretch. Then, by "crunching" the entire upper torso forward (as though an attempt were being made to put the face on the knees), the force resisting weights are moved or stretched and the abdominals are exercised in isolation, with the exercise repeated as long as desired.
Thus it is a basic object of the present invention to provide an exercising system for the abdominal muscles in which the abdominals are exercised in isolation and in which the abdominals are put on stretch before the abdominal exercise is actually done, and to achieve this highly desired and long sought after result with a compact, relatively inexpensive and reliable machine.